Boba Milk Tea with Black Sugar Syrup

中文菜谱：

黑糖鲜奶茶

Yes, we Asian people are totally obsessed with tea, milk tea and boba milk tea. Don’t get me start by counting the milk tea café on the streets in any big cities in China.  Chances are they might outnumber coffee shops and bars combined.

Tea choices in these cafes don’t always stay the same.  There are some hot trends once in a while.  For example, currently milk tea with black sugar syrup is more popular than other ones.

When I am too lazy to drive to China town, I DIY my own milk tea at home.  Trust me; it is so simple that even my husband can manage it! O(∩_∩)O~

The one from above is icy cold version.  And the one following is hot tea version.

For the tea：

10 g black tea leaves/ or 2 black tea bags
4 to 6 cups of water (or adjust water amount to taste)   

For black sugar syrup：

1/2 cup black sugar/ or really dark brown cane sugar
2 to 3 tablespoons water  

Other ingredients：

Black tapioca pearls (sold in any Asian grocery stores)
whole milk
water for cooking tapioca pearls

Directions：

Add black tea leaves to a French press  

Boil the water.  Remove from heat and let it to cool down for a couple minutes to probably around 195F/90C

Add water to the French press.

Add black sugar and water to a small thick sauce pan.  Cook over medium low heat until the mixture becomes syrupy.

It is really dark brown cane sugar and tastes like what we had back in childhood.

Cook the black tapioca pearls according to the directions on the package.  Cook in boiling water for 2 to 3 minutes.  Remove from heat, cover with lid and leave the tapioca balls in hot water for another 2 to 3 minutes. 

Rinse tapioca pearls and drain well.  Add to a small bowl along with 2 to 3 teaspoons black sugar syrup.  Mix well with a spoon.

Spoon the tapioca pearls to a tall glass.  Add more syrup if desired.

Frother 1/2 cup whole milk with the steam wand from an espresso machine

Add black tea to the glass, and then frothered milk.  Drizzle some syrup on the top.

Refrigerate any leftover black tea. 

To make the icy cold version, add freshly cooked tapioca pearls, black sugar syrup, ice cubes, milk.  Stir with a jumbo straw for boba

Add black tea and ice cubes.

Add milk

Stir and serve.  It is such a nice treat in a hot summer day！O(∩_∩)O~

Sweet Rice Dumplings with Red Beans and Jujubes Wrapped in Bamboo Leaves

中文菜谱：

红枣莲子豆沙甜粽子

Last time I posted sweet rice dumplings with pork and mung beans wrapped in bamboo leaves .  They are savory and tasty.  And I make another batch of sweet ones this time with red beans.

Red bean is one of the most popular dessert ingredients in Asia.  After long simmering time, red beans become soft and smooth.  By adding oil and sugar, we can get creamy and silky red bean paste which is good for all kinds of pastry goods. 

Besides red beans, I also add jujubes and lotus seeds.  These two may sound rare and exotic to American people, but they are widely used and have been very popular in Asian countries too.  The combination of them together with red beans paste is pretty tasty and awesome.

Ingredients for sweet rice dumplings：

3 cups of sweet rice
1 package of split pitted jujubes（10 oz, 283g）
2/3 cup of fresh lotus seeds (sold in refrigerate food section in Asian grocery stores)
red bean paste
large bamboo leaves
water as needed

Ingredients for red bean paste：

1/2 cup small red beans
1/2 to 2/3 cup firmly packed dark brown cane sugar
1/3 to 1/2 cup vegetable oil
water as needed

Directions：

These are the red beans and split pitted jujubes I buy from Asian grocery stores.  

Preparing red bean paste a day or two ahead of time would be a good idea.

Soak the red beans in water for 3 to 4 hours.  Add to a small pot with water.  Cook over medium low heat until the beans become very soft.

Use a vitamix blender to puree the beans. 

Add the puree to a non-stick skillet.  Cook over medium low heat.  Stir with wooden spoon from time to time.

Add 1/3 of oil and dark brown cane sugar.  Stir until they are absorbed by the red bean paste.  And then add another 1/3.  Repeat the process one more time after that.   

Finally the red bean paste is sweet, silky, and smooth.  It is done when the bean paste can maintain its shape.

Remove from heat.  Allow it to cool to room temperature.

Soak the sweet rice for 2 to 3 hours.  Drain well and fold in washed jujubes and lotus seeds.

The fresh lotus seeds are available in only a few Asian markets.  They are kind of hard to find.  If you can’t find them, you can just leave them out, or substitute with dry lotus seeds rehydrated in water for a couple hours.  The dry ones shall be available in all Asian grocery stores no matter how small the store is.  That is how much we love these tiny louts seeds O(∩_∩)O~

Soak dry bamboo leaves in water until well rehydrated.  Rinse well under running water.  Blanch the bamboo leaves in hot boiling water for a few seconds.  Drain and set aside for later use.

Fold every two bamboo leaves into a cone shape; add a couple tablespoons sweet rice with jujubes and lotus seeds.

Add a tablespoon of red bean paste

Cover with a thin layer of sweet rice mixture

Fold the bamboo leaves on top and wrap it up

Secure with cotton twine

All done!

I use a Staub 5.75 quarts cast iron dutch oven here.  Fill the pot with water. Cook over high heat until it boils.  Cover with lid and reduce the heat to simmer for about 2 1/2 hours.

Drain well and allow the dumplings to cool down before serving them.

Unwrap the dumplings before consuming.  Sweet rice become sticky and glutinous when cooked.  The whole dumpling taste sweet, tender, silky and delicious! 

BTW, freshly homemade red bean paste is much better than the store-bought version in every way.  Red bean paste is the key ingredient here.  The extra effort to make it from scratch at home totally enhances the flavor, big time! O(∩_∩)O~ 

Sweet Rice Dumplings with Pork Belly and Mung Beans Wrapped in Bamboo Leaves

中文菜谱：

五花肉绿豆咸蛋黄粽子

Dragon Festival 2018 comes on June 18.  It is not only celebrated by Chinese people, but also some other Asian countries too.  The traditions on this day is to take a bath/ shower with herbal medicine; eat some  sweet rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves; and watch boating completion. 

Among these celebrating events, the dumpling part is most attractive to me.  I used to make dumplings together with my mom when I was really young.  I carry on the tradition to make sweet rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves.  And I am hoping someday I can pass it onto my child in the future as a family tradition.  Although we have been living in America for a long time, we still hold on to our cultures and traditions, which I guess is why American cultures are so amazingly diverse and always evolving.  People from all over the world hold on to their origins but also embrace other cultures.

In a way bamboo wrapped sweet rice dumplings are like pasta from Italian families.  Each family has its own family recipes or secret ingredients.

Dumpling ingredients：

2 lbs sweet rice
1 package split mung beans （13.2oz/375g）
1 1/2 cups pinto beans
1 package salted duck egg yolks
2 tablespoons soy sauce
salt to taste
water
large bamboo leaves
marinated pork belly

For marinated pork belly：

2 lbs pork belly
2 to 3 tablespoon soy sauce
1 to 2 teaspoons dark soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon ground ginger
2 tablespoons rice cooking wine
1/4 teaspoon white ground pepper
1 teaspoon oyster sauce
salt to taste

Directions：

Rinse pork belly under running water.  Pat dry with paper towel and then cut it into I inch cubes. 

Add the pork belly to a medium bowl, along with soy sauce, dark soy sauce, sugar, ginger, rice cooking wine, ground white pepper, oyster sauce and salt.  Mix well.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or a couple days. 

Stir a couple times in between so that the pork belly could be seasoned more evenly.

Soak sweet rice and pinto beans with seasonings and water for 2 to 3 hours.

Soak dry bamboo leaves in water until well rehydrated.  Rinse well under running water.  Blanch the bamboo leaves in hot boiling water for a few seconds.  Drain and set aside for later use.

Soak the split mung beans with water and a pinch of salt for an hour.  Drain and rinse a few times until the water drained from mung beans is clear.

Salted duck egg yolks can be found in frozen foods section in Asian grocery stores. Cut each of them into small bite size pieces.

All set to go!

old every two bamboo leaves into a cone shape; add a couple tablespoons sweet rice with pinto beans.

Add a tablespoon mung beans, one piece pork belly and one piece of duck egg yolk.

Add another tablespoon sweet rice and pinto beans.

Fold the bamboo leaves on top and wrap it up

Secure with cotton twine

I make about 40 dumplings.  And this large 9 quarts Le Creuset dutch oven comes in handy.  All of the dumplings fit in one pot. 

This was my birthday gift earlier this year.  And my cat beat me to it O(∩_∩)O~

Fill the pot with water

Cook over high heat until it boils.  Cover with lid and reduce the heat to simmer for about 2 1/2 hours.

Drain well and allow the dumplings to cool down

They taste best when they are hot

The sweet rice, beans, pork belly and salted duck egg yolk almost melted together after such a long time simmering.  Pork inside is so tender and flavorful.  Sweet rice on the outside is soft and glutinous in a good way.   And the refreshing scent from bamboo leaves is a nice touch too.

Coffee Popsicles

中文菜谱： 咖啡冰棍

Hot, hot and very hot!  That is how I feel these days when summer is here in Texas.  I literally crave for frozen treats every single day.  So I am happy to make different kinds of popsicles every day.

This batch is coffee flavor, which is made with freshly ground and pumped espresso shots.  There is a strong, intense but smooth coffee flavor because of that.  Dripped or pot brewed coffee can be used here too, but the flavor and taste would not be as good though.

Ingredients：

4 to 6 shots of espresso
1 1/2 whole milk
1/2 to 2/3 cup condensed sweetened milk (or adjust the amount to taste)
1 teaspoon coffee rum liquor

Directions：

Make the espresso shots with espresso machine

Repeat the process until there are 6 to 8 shots of espresso coffee

Add espresso, milk, condensed milk, and coffee rum liquor in a medium bowl or cup.  Whisk until well blended. 

Pour the mixture to a popsicle mold

Cover with popsicle’s lid and insert popsicle sticks

Add a flat plate to the top so that these popsicle sticks will stay in place.

Freeze for 4 to 6 hours or until firm. 

Ready to be unmolded

Unmold all popsicles and wrap them up individually so that I don’t have to pick a fight with the popsicle mold every time I want to enjoy a popsicle O(∩_∩)O~

Oh, what a pleasant treat in a hot summer day!

Mango and Blueberry Yogurt Popsicles

中文菜谱：

芒果蓝莓酸奶棒冰

Houston has been known for its long and hot and sticky summer.  How do I prepare myself for it?  The answer is popsicles and ice cream! O(∩_∩)O~

Mango is a stable fruit down here in the south.  It is very juicy, creamy and sweet when ripe.  I love putting mango into drinks and desserts.  Not only the bright yellow color looks great and cheerful, more importantly it tastes fruity and awesome! 

Ingredients：

1/2 cup Greek honey yogurt
2/3 cup blueberry jam
1 large/ or 2 medium ripe mangoes
water as needed

Directions：

Peel the mangoes, and dice the fresh.  Add to vitamix along with some water.  Blend on high speed for about 10 to 15 seconds.

Add a couple teaspoons blueberry jam to ice popsicle mold, followed by Greek honey yogurt and mango puree.  Add more blueberry jam and yogurt on top.

Cover with popsicle’s lid and insert popsicle sticks

Freeze for 4 to 6 hours or until firm. 

To unmold the popsicles, just dip the mold in warm water for 10 seconds.  And then they shall be easily removed from mold. 

Here you go.  Here are some most beautiful and tasty popsicles ready to be eaten O(∩_∩)O~